Side slipping weft detector for looms



' Feb. 21, 1950 Filed Feb. 8, 1949 INVENTOR.

H ERBERT A.WHIT|N.

611w r W ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 21, 1950 Herbert A. Whitin, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Y Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts I 1 Application February 8, 1945 Serial No. 75,231

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in side slipping weft detectors for looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a detector of this type which shall be sensitive in operation and so constructed as to facilitate ready repair.

The present invention relates to the type of side slipping weft detector including a forwardly slidable detector finger mounted on a detector lever the pivot of which is located to one side of the detector finger. In such weft detectors it is desirable to be able to replace the detector finger or the light compression spring surrounding it should either of these parts become damaged.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a simple form of side slip weft detector including a housing on which the detector finger is mounted, the housing being so constructed that it can be readily removed from the aforesaid lever either to be replaced by a similar housing or for repair or replacement of a detector finger or spring. I

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide the detector lever with a re'arwardly extending arm on which the housing is mounted and construct the housing with slips or the like which embrace part of the arm but can be slipped from the latter when the means holding the housing on the detector lever is loosened.

It is a still further object of the invention to construct the housing'in such manner that the detector finger can be readily removed from it after the housing has been removed from the lever, the housing having a rear wall or the like serving to engage a stopshoulder on the detector finger and the wall having an open slot through which the detector finger can be moved for removal from the housing, The slot is normally closed by the detector lever but is open when the housing is taken off the lever.

With these and other objects in vievv'which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of the invention is set forth,

Fig. 1'is an end elevation of part of a weft replenishing mechanism having the improved form of detector applied thereto, the lay and shuttle box thereon being in section,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on line 2 Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on line 4-4, Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line 55, Fig. 3, Fig. 6 is an enlarged detailed vertical section on line 6-6, Fig. 5, and

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic detail view showing the relation between part of the detector lever and the clips on the housing, the clips-being shown in section.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the loom frame l0 supports a foot ll of a magazine not shown herein but including in its construction the transferrer arm l2 mounted for angular movement on a stationary stud I3 fixed to the support II. An arm l4 fixed to the stud has adjustably mounted thereon a holder l5 through which extends a stud Hi the forward or left end of which as viewed in Fig. 1 is secured'to a carrier designated generally at IT. The carrier may have an upturned end l8 for engagement with a lug l9 on the transferrer arm, and a tension spring 20 is interposed between the carrier and the holder I5 tending normally to hold the carrier yieldingly in rear position.

A pair of bolts 2| and 22 extend downwardly through a rear part of the carrier I! and also through a base 23 which may be made of flat sheet metal. The detector designated generally at D is mounted on the plate 23 and is normally held as shown in Fig. 1 to enter a shuttle S in a shuttle box 24 mounted on the lay 25 when the latter advances on detecting beats of the loom.

Except as noted hereinafter the matter thus far described may be of common construction and is set forth herein as one means for mounting the detector. 7

Referring more particularly to Figs. 2 and 3,

the plate or base 23 has secured thereto an upright stud on the lower end of which is pivotally mounted a detector lever 3|. The upper part of the stud has a drum 32 held in angularly adjusted position thereon by a, set screw '33. A torsion spring 34 has one end thereof operatively connected to the drum as at 35 and has the other end thereof extending downwardly through the lever 3| as at 3'6. The effect of the spring 34 is to exert a force on the lever 3i tending to turn the latter in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2,and hold it normally in ecting position.

The detector'arm 3| has a lateral extension 40 from which an arm 4| extends rearwardly. The arm 4| may be relatively narrow and has parallel sides. Mounted-.93 t eiqr ard part f. e era.

tension 40 on the arm 4| is a housing designated herein generally at H. This housing is preferably made of sheet metal and has a flat top 42 and right and left vertical parallel side walls 43 and 44 as viewed in Fig. 4. The forward end of the top is bent down to provide a front stop andguide lug 45 having a perforation or hole 46 therein. Similarly, the rear part of the top is bent down to form a rear stop and guide lug 41 similar to lug 45, except that as seen in Fig. 6, the lug 41 has a downwardly open slot 48. This slot is normally closed 'by the arm 4|. The housing has a side extension 49 which is held by screw 5!! to the lever 3|;

As shown more particularly in Fig, 6 the rear part of each of the vertical side walls of the housing I-I extends down as at'5| along the arm 4| and is then bent under arm 4| to form a clip 52. The clips are bent toward each other and are separated by a gap or space 53. The rear partof arm 4| is .reducedasat-SA to form rearwardly facing shoulders 55 which engage the clips and serve as stopsto limit forward motion of the housing on'arm 4|, see Fig. '7.

The weft detector includes, a'detector finger or element 6|! which in the-present instance comprises a straight preferably round wire having a, side-slipping tip 6| secured to the rear end thereof. This tip has a roughened; rear surface 62 for engagement'with the bobbin B beingdetected. The wire extends through the slot'48 and has secured thereto a stop or shoulder 63 for engagement with the front part of rear lug 41. Adightweight compression spring64 in the housing surrounds the detector finger 60 and its-rear end bears against the stop 63- and normally holds'the latter against the 111g 4] tomaintain the detectorfinger in normal detecting position. The forward end of the spring presses against a small bearing 65 loosely surrounding the detector finger and held against the front lug by spring 64. Bearing B5 is preferably of rectangular cross-section tofitwithin the housing and has a hole 66 through which the-for ward'end of the detector finger extends. The stop shoulder 63 slides along the top of .arm 4| and will ordinarily engage oneof the side walls of the housing when the finger fifl-is pushed-forwardly, thereby preventing axial angular movement of the finger 60 relatively to the housing and holding. the feeler tip incorrect position.

Under normal conditions torsion spring 34- will hold the detector lever 3| in the detecting position shown in Fig. 2- and' compression spring 64will hold the detector finger 6.0 in rear detecting position. When sufficient weft for continued weaving engages'the teeth 62 during a beat-up of the lay 25 the tip will be prevented bythe weft from slipping laterally along the bobbinand the detector finger will move forwardly against the. action of spring 64. Under these conditions the detectorlever 3| will not swing on. stud 30. When, however, the weft-is substantially exhausted, as indicated in Fig. 2, the tip fii will slip laterally along the empty bobbin to the rightfrom'the position shown. in Fig.- 2, thereby effecting angular movement of the detector lever 3 I If the manner of indicating weft exhaustion-v is to be by means, of anelectric circuit theswing ing of lever 3| can be utilized to control an elec tric switch. This switch is designated at 10 in Fig. 2 and is preferably secured to the under side of plate or base 23, as by screws 1|. A short for ami :extendingarm 1-2.,onlever 3| nor mally engages and depresses a plunger 13 forming part of the switch 10. When the lever 3| is in its normal position shown in Fig. 2 the plunger will be in its right hand position to maintain the switch 10 in open condition, but

when the detector lever swings to indicate weft exhaustion arm- 12 moves away from plunger 13 and the latter is free to close the switch. Thereafter well-known weft detector circuit means can be utilized to bring about a change in loom operation, such as weft replenishment.

As shown more particularly in Fig. 6, the space 53 between the clips 52 is wide enough to permit passage therethroughof the detector 60. If for any reason it should be necessary to renew the detector finger the screw 50 can be unthreaded from the lever,extension 4B and the housing H slide rearwardly along the arm 4| until the clips 52 are behind the reduced rear end 54 of the arm 4|. The entire housing can then be removed from lever3| and either replacedby a similar housing, or if it'is' desired, a new detector finger can be applied to the housing. In order to remove the detector finger from the housing after the latter has been removed from lever 3| it is necessary merely to move the rear end of the detector finger downwardly'so that it will move out of the open end of slot 48*and pass down through thespace 53. The'detector finger can then be slipped rearwardly sufficiently to disengage its forward end from thebearing 65, after which the detector finger will be entirely removed from the housing, and can either be repaired in the event that it has been damaged,

or replaced by a finger having a different feeler tip.

From the foregoing it will, be seen that-the housing H constitutes aunit'containing the de-v tector finger-and the. springfor the latter andthat the unit is held to the detectorarm 3| partly by screw and partly by a pair of clips at its rear end. By removing the screw'5ll the housing; can be slipped rearwardly andthe detector or. housing unit removed from the lever 5| either for replacement or :repair. The detector finger can be removed from the housing by a downward movement through the slot 48 and the space 53. The stop shoulder on the detector finger has a straight part which engages at least one of the flat Walls of the housing, or the top surface of the lever 3|, to prevent axial angular motion of the detector finger. The lever 3| and housing H may be made of a lightweight metal, such. as aluminum, and is found in practice to be very sensitive and adaptable for use with very fine wefts. The bearing loosely surrounds the detector finger 6B and augments the 'bearingfor the finger provided by the hole in the front guide lug.

Having thus described the invention it will beseen that changes andmodifications of the foregoing specific disclosure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In side slipping weft detecting mechanism including a'detector lever movable about the axis thereof from the normal position thereofto indicate weft exhaustion, a'rearwardly extending arm housing to slide rearwardly on the lever and arm to disengage said clips from said arm to effect removal of the housing from the lever.

2. In side slipping weft detecting mechanism including a detector lever movable about the axis thereof from the normal position thereof to indicate weft exhaustion, a housing on said lever, removable securing means holding the forward end of said housing on said lever, front and rear lugs on said housing, a detector finger slidable in the housing and guided for movement by said lugs, and clips integral with the housing extending under part of said lever and cooperating with the latter to position the rear end of the housing, said lever being so formed that upon removal of said securing means said clips will be slidable rearwardly along the lever for disengagement of the housing from the lever.

3. In side slipping weft detecting mechanism including a detector lever movable about the axis thereof from the normal position thereof to indicate weft exhaustion, a housing on the top of the lever having a rear lug formed with a downwardly opening slot, a front lug forming part of the housing, a detector finger extending through said slot and front lug and slidably mounted with respect to the housing, removable means holding the housing on the lever with a part of the latter in position to close the lower end of said slot, said means when removed permitting removal of the housing from the lever, whereupon said detector finger is movable downwardly out of said slot.

4. In side slipping weft detecting mechanism including a detector lever movable about the axis thereof from the normal position thereof to indicate weft exhaustion, a housing removably secured to the top of said lever, a rear lug on the housing formed with a downwardly opening slot therein, said lever normally closing the lower end of said slot, a front lug on the housing, an elongated detector finger extending through said slot and front lug and being guided for sliding movement by said lugs, a stop shoulder on said finger, and a compression spring surrounding the finger and located within the housing and having the front end thereof in engagement with the 'front lug and having the rear end thereof in engagement with said stop shoulder to hold the latter yieldingly against the rear lug, said slot being open when the housing is removed from the lever to enable said detector to be moved downwardly through said slot for removal from the housing.

5. In side slipping weft detecting mechanism including a detector lever movable about the axis thereof from the normal position thereof to indicate weft exhaustion, a rearwardly extending arm on said lever, a housing on the top of said lever and arm having a rear lug provided with a downwardly opening slot, removable holding means normally securing the forward part of the housing to the lever, clips on said housing extending under said arm and cooperating with said removable means to hold the housing on the lever in position to close said slot, said clips being separated by a space under said slot, and a detector finger extending through the housing and said slot, the housing upon removal of the holding means being slidable on the arm to detach the clips from the arms and said detector finger thereafter being movable downwardly through said slot and space between said clips for removal from said housing.

6. In side slipping weft detecting mechanism including a detector lever movable about the axis thereof from the normal position thereof to indicate weft exhaustion, a housing removably secured to the top of the lever, an elongated detector finger extending through and slidable relatively to the housing and having a feeler tip at the rear end thereof, said housing having a part thereof parallel to the detector finger, a stop shoulder secured to the finger engaging said part of the housing to prevent substantial axial angular movement of the finger relatively to the housing, and resilient means within the housing surrounding the detector normally holding said stop shoulder yieldingly against the housing, said stop shoulder being slidable along said part of the housing when the finger slides relatively to the housing.

7. In side slipping weft detecting mechanism including a detector lever movable about the axis thereof from the normal position thereof to indicate weft exhaustion, a housing secured to the top of the lever and having an integral front lug and an integral rear lug, a detector finger slidable through the housing and through said lugs, a stop shoulder on said finger for engagement with the rear lug, a bearing within the housing loosely surrounding said finger adjacent to the front lug, and a compression spring operatively interposed between said stop shoulder and bearing normally effective to hold the stop shoulder against the rear lug and holding said bearing against the front l ug, said spring yielding to permit sliding movement of the detector finger relatively to said housing and through said bearing.

8. A housing unit for the detector lever of a side slipping weft detecting mechanism, said unit comprising means for attachment to the top of the lever, side walls forming part of the housing, spaced clips depending from said side walls for engagement with the under side of part of the lever, said clips being separated by a space, and a lug on the housing having a downwardly opening slot over and registering with said space between said clips to receive a detector finger after the latter has moved upwardly through said space.

9. A detector housing unit for the detector lever of a side slipping weft detector mechanism, said unit comprising side walls, an extension on one of said walls for attachment to the top of the lever, clips depending from said walls, one clip for each wall, for engagement with the under part of the lever, said clips being separated by a space, a lug on said housing having a downwardly opening slot over and registering with the space between the clips, and an elongated detector finger extending through the housing and slot removable and from said housing by downward movement out of said slot and through said space.

HERBERT A. WI-IITIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS LaChance Sept. 2, 1941 

